Assessment on the Awareness and Attitude about Waste Recycling in Three Vietnamese Universities in the Framework of GREENUS Project

Abstract GREEN waste management new edUcation System for recycling and environmental protection in Asia (GREENUS) is a project funded by the European Union to develop the technical capabilities of the younger generations in the waste management sector in Vietnam, enhancing the fundamental role of universities. As a part of the GREENUS project, this study aims to investigate the level of awareness and attitude of the Vietnamese universities about waste recycling and the impact of the project activities. Data were gathered from a questionnaire, which was distributed to three universities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Can Tho University, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology) for three months in 2023. Descriptive statistics and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis were used to analyze the data. The results show that Professors/lecturers as well as older people have higher level of awareness and appear more inclined to engage in waste separation. In addition, females express more willingness to participate in the separate collection of waste for recycling than males. Regarding small electronic devices, the majority replace their mobile phones within three to five years due to damage, while laptops tend to have a longer lifespan, often exceeding five years. Furthermore, the majority of respondents (over 70%) find the GREENUS initiative effective in enhancing their awareness of the importance of proper waste management. They believe that the initiative is valuable since it simply explains why appropriate waste management is everyone responsibility, provides new knowledge on waste management techniques and inspires/motivates people to handle waste correctly. The study can represent a good source of references for suggesting practical policies that spread a new recycling culture, promoting the use of innovative waste collection and recycling systems in the Universities.